Canberra Business Society ‘Develop LinkedIn’ workshop with Josh Farr
By Peter Searles
UC’s Canberra Business Society recently treated its members to an incredibly valuable LinkedIn workshop run by Josh Farr, founder of Campus Consultancy. The workshop focused on equipping our students with tactics to optimise their LinkedIn presence; allowing them to market themselves to potential employers.
Josh Farr’s own LinkedIn page lists him as a TEDx speaker, a Facilitator for more than 44,000 students, and Australian Business Journal’s #1 Student Leadership Coach in Australia. Josh founded the business Campus Consultancy in 2017 with the stated mission of empowering student leaders across Australia. The business offers professional leadership training either via single workshops or more complete programs of up to three years.
Josh certainly has the skills and personality to deliver on his business’ stated goals. His highly engaging and direct approach in this workshop meant our students received all the information they wanted from the session plus plenty of advice that they may not have known they needed. Our students wanted to know: ‘How can I market myself effectively on LinedIn?’ And ‘How can I highlight my previous skills and experience?’ In response, Josh demonstrated a range of tips and tricks from how to ensure your profile photo is sending the right message, to the importance of quantifying results, rather than simply presenting a list of previous achievements.
Josh also showed how much LinkedIn has to offer its users beyond the basic functions they may have been limited to so far. He gave an overview of the alumni search function, through which users can discover which companies recent graduates most frequently found employment with. From there, Josh’s advice was simply to reach out, find common ground and establish a connection with the people who found their way into the job you want. There is a lot to be learned from the experience of others.
In fact, if all of the expert advice presented in this session could be reduced to one line, it would be ‘be a doer’. Attendees were told if they don’t have the skills or experience necessary for the job they’re looking for; find out how to get it through participation in courses and their own learning. That way, it’s just a matter of time until you become the ideal choice for the role you want.
Josh was quick to point out that branding yourself is not just about creating content. The primary goal should be optimising online presence and building relationships. But once that’s done, Josh had a range of suggestions on how to generate content that will showcase your knowledge and contribute to a conversation that can benefit many besides yourself.
Josh showed the workshop attendees that they can produce engaging online content whilst boosting their own employability. His advice described a kind of online journaling of the pathway a student might take towards future employment. If you attend a workshop, complete a course, or read an article, generate a post about the ‘top three things I learnt’ or ‘my question on this topic is’. Doing so gets that knowledge out into the world, contributes to a larger conversation and at the same time, reinforces your own learning.
Overall, this was an engaging session full of practical advice from an inspiring young leader in the Australian business community. You can take part in future Canberra Business Society events by signing up at https://clubs.canberra.edu.au/Clubs/cbsuc/Products/419 and use the following link to take part in Campus Consultancy courses with Josh Farr: https://campusconsultancy.thinkific.com/courses/linkedin